recommendations on desktop cooling system

[Pants]

I built this system last year.

Hardware specs are:

Case: Overseer RX-1 ...VN7000 Series
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0
CPU: AMD FX 6100
RAM 8 gb
HDD: Seagate ST320005 42AS 2TB
Video: Video|ATI Radeon HD 5450
PSU: Coolmax zu series 900w

My office is in my house and during the summer, it is not cooled. I keep Windows open and fans blowing but that's it. Current temperature of the room is 95 degree Fahrenheit.

I'm concerned that I may wear my system's parts down faster than desired. Would anyone recommend something better than the current air cooling system? I've never done much research into cooling systems for desktop computers.

 

[jbartlett323]

Get a windows air conditioner. Cool the room. At 95F, your not gonna run cool without some serious stuff, like a TEC or Phase Change. In the, it will be more economic/comfortable just to cool the room...
I am a firm believer in Water, but it still wont do better than ambient. Ever.

 

[mraikes]

I agree with jbartlett that a cool room is ideal. But from your description, I wouldn't invest a dime achieving it. How much will an air conditioner and the additional electricity cost? What difference will it actually make in the life of your computer?

Or are you really just looking for a way to justify the expense of A/C in your office to your wife? If so, ignore this post.

My primary workspace is built in part of my garage. It's not cooled except evenings and weekends when I'm actually working there. The temperature out there reaches 100 degrees or close to it nearly every day. And higher in peak summer.

Two computers live/run out there 24/7: My main Win 7 bench machine and a Windows Home Server. Neither of them are anything special and they've run constantly without issue for several years with nothing more than an occasional blowing out of the dust.

The only concession I make to temp control is during hard drive intensive activities (like data recoveries or lengthy virus scans) on particularly hot days. Then it might occur to me to point an extra desk fan directly at the hard drive for a little extra chill. I leave the side panels off, so it's easy to do that.

Before anyone suggests the carefully designed "front to back cooling flow" is ruined by leaving off the panels - don't bother. For typical computers, airflow concerns are mostly bollocks. Think of all the computers that run for years with cases, fans and cooling fins clogged with crud and dust bunnies.

IMO 95 degree temps in your office aren't going to make any noticeable difference in the lifespan of your computer.

 

[ohio_grad_06]

If you want to cheaply chill the cpu check out the cooler master hyper 212 evo. It's a tower style cpu cooler with a 120 mm fan, if memory serves you get a second set of brackets in case you want to add another 120 mm fan for push/pull.

 

[Pants]

I actually do have an AC window unit that a friend lent to me recently. It's just been sitting on the floor in my office because I didn't want my electric bill going up.

I was hoping for something that would cool my system without having to use an AC. However, if the ability of heat to reduce the lifespan of your hardware is a myth, then I may just bite the bullet.

Incidentally, I installed the window unit and I've been running it for about an hour. It's down 5 degrees in here; it's not much but it still feels like a huge difference. I was planning on using this unit while working (when I HAVE TO be in here), but it's so nice I may just use it more frequently.

 

[ohio_grad_06]

What I've found(our bedroom gets wan in summer), is if I put a tower fan by the vent for the a.c.to pull the cool air further into the room, and then set another fan on the other side of the room that seems to help move air enough to make the room liveable.

 

[Vicenarian]

You could plug a mini fridge near your computer case, cut a hole in the door, and use air ducts to funnel the cool air into the PC case

#YOLO

/JustKidding

 

[SpaceSquad]

If you want to cheaply chill the cpu check out the cooler master hyper 212 evo. It's a tower style cpu cooler with a 120 mm fan, if memory serves you get a second set of brackets in case you want to add another 120 mm fan for push/pull.

Yep. Hyper 212 evo.

Spend no more on that system.

 

[Pants]

You could plug a mini fridge near your computer case, cut a hole in the door, and use air ducts to funnel the cool air into the PC case

#YOLO

/JustKidding

Nice double action...ie A fridge to keep my snacks cold, and keep my pc cool.

If I had a fridge that I could afford to throw away, I might try it.

 

[KompuKare]

While 95°F (35°C) is not going to comfortable to work at (IMO), you didn't list the actual CPU or HDD temperatures. While room temperature has a bearing on that, it is equally possible for a computer to overheat in a really cold room.

Point being, the temperatures you would want to keep an eye on are the internal temperatures of the computer as reported by hardware monitoring tools which can read the CPU, HDD, GPU temperature.

The only thing room temperature means is that it is highly unlikely that when the room temperature is 35°C that any of your components will below that temperature.

 

[Pants]

While 95°F (35°C) is not going to comfortable to work at (IMO), you didn't list the actual CPU or HDD temperatures. While room temperature has a bearing on that, it is equally possible for a computer to overheat in a really cold room.

Point being, the temperatures you would want to keep an eye on are the internal temperatures of the computer as reported by hardware monitoring tools which can read the CPU, HDD, GPU temperature.

The only thing room temperature means is that it is highly unlikely that when the room temperature is 35°C that any of your components will below that temperature.

Insightful. Thanks

 

[cypress]

Wow 95 is quite warm environment for an office but I agree that a nice cheap and effective cooler would be the hyper 212 evo. Also how many case fans do you have? How is the wiring? These help factor in as well.